The Heart of the Ozarks nursing home in Ava puts on an amazing 4th of July celebration for the community every year. The last few years I have helped at the CMN booth sponsored by Wal-mart. This year we decided to do face painting and hair spray of different colors. We made about $150. Not bad for a few hours. We all had a great time. Brandon, my 13 year old cousin, always likes to come help with the booth. He has been helped out a lot by CMN, so it's cool to see him come work at the booth. He painted faces all evening, but at the end of the evening he decided to have some fun. The local trout farm had a big pond set up for kids to fish, but at the end of the night a bunch of kids got in the pond and tried to catch the trout by hand. Talk about some good ol' Douglas County entertainment. Needless to say, Brandon could not resist the temptation. He pulled off his shoes, handed me his phone and hearing aid, and jumped in. He didn't even see the fireworks, but he didn't care. He chased those fish around until I made him get out to go home. I just wish I had taken my camera! I didn't take it in because I knew we would be too busy in the booth to take any pictures. Anyway, overall it was a really fun night.

There was one thing that really bothered me, though. There were several people around me who just kept eating, talking, and whatever else during the National Anthem. To me, that is one of the most disrespectful things a person living in this country can do. I am a patriot. I am married to a veteran, and my grandpa is a WWII veteran. I cannot ignore their sacrifice, and I will teach my children the same. We are blessed to live in the United States, and I hope we can all take a moment to remember that as we celebrate with barbeque, fireworks, and fun with family and friends.